Economy’s strength in question

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The fine print. Always, always, always...wait for the fine print. In the most-telegraphed punch in the history of the Fed, it did indeed hike the overnight cost of money from 1 percent to 1.25 percent on Wednesday. However, nothing else in the markets, in the structure of interest rates, in the perception of the economy, in the expectations for future interest rates...not one other thing went according to plan. The net consequence of a series of surprises is a defiant bond market and 6 percent low-fee mortgages, down a half-percent from the three-month high, and down a quarter-percent since the Fed's meeting began on Tuesday. Going into the Fed's first tightening move in four years, the weight of opinion in the bond market held that the Fed was behind the curve, too slow to tighten, tim...